


Trapped

by Iithril



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes & Winter Soldier are Different Personalities, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, M/M, Panic Attacks, Protective Bucky Barnes, Revelations ensue, Tony Stark Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, stuck in an elevator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:22:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29106294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iithril/pseuds/Iithril
Summary: The doors had closed with a gentle “ting!”, their descent had begun…Then stopped.Tony is trapped in an elevator. Not the best moment to have a panic attack, but it's not like he has a choice.Oh, and Bucky is there too.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Comments: 14
Kudos: 236
Collections: Winteriron Winter Stockings 2020





	Trapped

**Author's Note:**

  * For [asphxdels](https://archiveofourown.org/users/asphxdels/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [asphxdels](https://archiveofourown.org/users/asphxdels/pseuds/asphxdels) in the [winteriron_winter_stockings_2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/winteriron_winter_stockings_2020) collection. 



> Written for the [WinterIron Winter Stockings](https://winteriron-winter-stockings.tumblr.com/) event!
> 
> For [asphxdels](/users/asphxdels/), using their short prompt **Trapped in an Elevator**. I hope you like it!
> 
> Many thanks and all my gratitude to my awesome beta for this work, [gelishan](/users/gelishan/), who did a fantastic job despite a very short notice.

Strangely enough, the day had started well. 

Usually, on days like this, there was an event at the very beginning of the day, a bad omen. Like toast falling on the ground or splashing into his coffee mug. Or an alarm that wouldn’t ring, or maybe toothpaste landing on his favourite shirt because he tried to talk to Jarvis with his toothbrush in his mouth. A warning that the day might go wrong. It helped Tony brace for what was coming and mentally prepare to deal with the consequences.

Today, there hadn’t been a single warning. Jarvis had gently woken him with the first rays of the sun, he’d managed to fall asleep quickly the night before, nearly satisfied with the design he had been working on, the coffee machine worked perfectly, he had found a shirt he particularly liked in his dresser – a good start of a day, all in all! He’d had his two cups of coffee and more than three hours of sleep, which wasn’t enough to pay his sleep debt but was enough to allow him to think straight.

He’d walked to the elevator leading to his workshop, tensed a bit as he spotted the Winter Soldier heading the same way – he’d offered him a place in the Tower and had cleared the air between them, but the man kept acting strange in his presence, fleeing the room and avoiding looking at him, so Tony wasn’t at ease when he was around. 

That didn’t mean they couldn’t take the elevator together, so he’d patiently walked there, waited for the elevator sent by Jarvis to arrive and for Bucky to step into it before entering as well, noticing Bucky had chosen to turn his back to him. The doors had closed with a gentle “ting!”, their descent had begun… 

Then stopped. 

Without a warning, not even from Jarvis, not a single flashing diode to indicate something might be wrong. The elevator had stilled, the sound of the pneumatic brakes and the disappearance of the weight in Tony’s stomach proof of it. 

There had been an awkward silence in the elevator, neither of them daring to move. Then Tony had asked, trying to hide the anxiety building in his voice. 

“Jarvis?”

Only silence had answered. 

It was a couple of seconds after that, and Tony was trying to sum up his situation. 

He was stuck in the elevator with the Winter Soldier. Jarvis was, in all probability, out of commission for some reason. Tony wasn’t even sure there was someone else in the Tower – Clint was with his family, Nat had disappeared two days ago, Thor was offworld, Peter was with May and Steve had accepted Sam’s invitation to go hiking and they hadn’t given Tony a date for their return. 

_Fuck_. 

He needed to breathe. He knew he was safe in the Tower, that even if the elevator were to fall to the ground full speed, he had built it to keep the people inside safe and sound. He knew that Bucky wouldn’t hurt him. Even the Soldier wouldn’t. He only had to wait – Jarvis had a back-up security protocol that would launch in a couple of minutes, in case the IA wasn’t back online soon. He tried to remember what Rhodey had taught him, breathing in deep, holding, breathing out slow, but he couldn’t remember how long each phase was supposed to last, and his brain froze.

His breath hitched and his throat felt tight, as if the room were suddenly devoid of oxygen. Images flashed, memories flooded his senses – a dark cave, its smell dry and arid, a bitter reminder of the desert outside of its confines. The sound of water droplets falling on the ground, the banging of metal, the heat. The desperation, the anguish of being trapped with nobody coming to him, with people threatening to kill him. Yinsen helping him, reassuring him, his presence a tether in the dark.

Yinsen’s death. 

He felt as if the ground had split in half and swallowed him, deep down, somewhere nobody would find him. The sound of someone banging on metal was now louder, filling his ears, even covering the thundering of his blood and his panicked panting as he crawled and tried to get out of the pit, to climb back up to the light. 

He needed to do it, because nobody would be here for him – nobody had been there, and the only man who had been brave and foolish enough to be had died because of him. Tony needed to get out on his own, he couldn’t allow himself to be weak, not like this. 

Not in front of Bucky. 

There were hands around him, a presence. Tony tried to fight it, lost in darkness, sand filling his mouth, his lungs. He could do this on his own. He had to. 

The hands didn’t let go. They gripped him tighter, almost painfully, forcing his body still, and there was a distant ringing as well, something powerful and worried that tried to reach Tony, tried to pierce through the cries and the thunder echoing in Tony’s ears. 

“Tony!”

Tony gasped, his lungs begging for oxygen, and he tried to move his arms to reach the surface and break free, the sounds of his surroundings finally registering, though still muffled, but the hands holding him stayed strong and firm, unyielding. 

“Tony, it’s alright,” a voice Tony couldn’t quite recognise said right next to his ears, and as sensation came back to his body he realised there was someone kneeling next to him, and he was huddled up in a corner of the elevator. He didn’t remember falling or moving there, and his mouth still tasted of sand and blood and _metal_. 

“It’s alright,” the voice repeated softly, and Tony wanted to believe it, wanted to so badly, the comforting embrace an anchor preventing him from drifting away. He wanted to yell at the voice all the reasons it was wrong, but couldn’t bring himself to, for there was a certainty in its tone, a sharp edge that dared him to think otherwise. 

He blinked once, then once more, until his eyes condescended to focus on his surroundings, then he blinked some more because he wasn’t sure he could trust what he was seeing. 

Bucky was kneeling next to him, holding Tony’s hands in his, concern painted on his features, a soft sadness in the blue eyes staring right into Tony’s soul. 

“I- I’m sorry,” Tony whispered, shame crashing over him, his whole body shuddering.

“Don’t. Bucky feels just like you.”

“Buck-” 

_Oh._

“Winter?” Tony asked, because Jarvis had told him about the Winter Soldier and how he was still there, hiding behind Bucky’s sad smiles and trembling hands. 

“Yes. Bucky hid, he doesn’t do well in close spaces like this. Told me to take care of you,” Winter answered, and there was something slightly different from Bucky’s usual demeanour. There was an air of detachment, a bluntness that felt almost intimidating to Tony. Winter must have sensed it, because he smiled, a flash of white teeth and red lips, and his hands loosened around Tony’s wrists. 

“And you?” Tony inquired, because he didn’t know Winter, didn’t know what he had lived through and what memories he carried, and he could understand a little panic. He’d just had a breakdown, or so it seemed. They were both past shame at this point. 

Winter stared at him with his head tilted to the side, as if he hadn’t expected Tony’s question. After a few seconds, he answered, his tone almost flat, but there was a hint of a smile stretching his lips. 

“I’m okay. Used to it, after all those years. Feels like home.”

Right as he finished his sentence and shrugged, the lights of the elevator trembled, flickered, and died. 

Tony was back in the Afghan cave again, feeling the heat, despair and _terror_ clawing at him. Winter’s hands tightened around his wrists and he tried to jerk out, to free himself, the pressure around his wrists reminding him of the shackles he’d been forced into. 

The hands immediately let go and moved to his shoulders, Winter’s body against Tony’s now, hair tickling Tony’s neck and a hammering sound echoing in his chest. It felt like his hammer when he’d banged on the metal pieces he’d gathered to build his first armor – it had the same strength, steady and slow and oddly comforting. 

It took a few seconds of panicked breathing and an intense fight against the memories for Tony to realise he was clinging to Winter as if he were about to drown, and that the sound which made his whole chest vibrate was _Winter’s heartbeat_. 

“It’s okay, Tony, we’re still here,” Winter gently stated, leaning into Tony’s embrace despite the uncomfortable position it put him in. 

Tony nodded, unable to reply. He was still trying to trick his lungs into believing darkness didn’t mean there wasn’t any air anymore, and it took a tremendous effort out of him to do so, his heart galloping in his chest almost painfully. He focused on the hammering sound, let his body breathe to the same rhythm, until he regained control over his voice. 

“Thank you,” Tony exhaled, shifting his position to allow Winter to sit more comfortably. The man did, but while Tony expected him to sit next to him, he moved behind Tony and wrapped his arms around Tony’s shoulders with a gentle but firm pressure. Tony let go and leant back, his head finding a support against Winter’s chest. 

In any other circumstances, Tony would have been embarrassed to be so close to the Winter Soldier. He could feel Winter’s chin resting on the top of his head, his legs around Tony’s and his arms holding Tony close, keeping him grounded and warm despite the things lurking in the darkness, the memories and sensations coming in flashes. 

For now, he was only grateful to have someone with him. Jarvis should have rebooted by now, and Tony had taught his IA, through a lot of trials and errors, how to deal with panic attacks like this. But there was only silence, and with the lights off… Yeah, Tony was better off with someone. 

“Is… Bucky alright?” Tony asked when the silence became unbearable again, noises creeping up in his ears and speeding his breathing with fear. 

“He’s surviving. Doesn’t like dark boxes much. I’m the one who was called in for those situations, usually with painful incentives,” Winter explained, his voice detached, but Tony could hear the rage boiling underneath, the wrath ready to be unleashed, and he shivered. He trusted Bucky, since he had interacted with the man a little after– after they had a heart-to-heart and Tony had spent a generous amount of time in therapy. But Winter? He had almost killed Steve with his bare hands. 

Yet there was no fear. Embarrassment, yes, but Tony was as relaxed as he could be after a panic attack trapped in a dark elevator, which… 

Weird.

He exhaled sharply, realising he’d been holding his breath for longer than he should have, and he felt Winter doing the same behind him. Winter’s hands were now wrapped around Tony’s ribs, gently rubbing back and forth in a comforting motion, and Tony’s skin finally registered the temperature gap between the human hand and the metal one – but the motion was equally gentle.

Tony obliviously placed his hands over Winter’s arms and mimicked the movement, leaning back more and more into the warm embrace, letting go of his fears. If he just didn’t think about it, if he focused on Winter’s strong arms, his steady heartbeat, his _warmth_ , then everything would be okay. 

“Tony?”

“Hm?”

“Are you falling asleep?”

Tony felt like he could – he was exhausted, like he always was after a panic attack, his brain surrendering and needing to rest and unwind. He felt _safe_. 

“What if I am?” he replied instead. He didn’t want to bother Winter or Bucky if they wanted to be on their own while they waited. Winter had been willing to sit this close to Tony, but maybe it was only to calm him down, maybe he didn’t want to be there anymore. 

“Ah, I thought you’d rather be somewhere more comfortable,” Winter shrugged, his hands moving up from Tony’s ribs to his chest, then to his clavicles, before resting around his neck, continuing the same soothing motion, the temperature contrast even starker now that it was against bare skin. Tony didn’t even flinch even though Winter’s hands were now in a very vulnerable spot – he trusted him, and revelled in the soothing touch.

“We can’t go anywhere else for now,” Tony sighed. “I don’t know why Jarvis isn’t back online yet, but it seems like we’re stuck here for just a little bit more.”

“Bucky says it might be Thor’s arrival with the Bifrost interfering with your electronics,” Winter replied, and Tony stayed silent for a second, bewildered. 

“Wha- Ho- Could you repeat that?” Tony stuttered, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that _Bucky_ had said that and could, in fact, be right. It would be one hell of a coincidence, but it was a possibility. 

Winter stilled against Tony and his metal arm whirred, the pressure from his hand increasing ever so slightly around Tony’s neck. 

“I said the Bifrost’s energy radiations might have messed up the electronics. Doesn’t mean Thor is out there searching for us and wondering why the Tower is dark and closed, but it could explain it, right?” 

There was no doubt Bucky was back – Tony couldn’t explain how he knew, but there was something slightly different, in the way his whole body had stiffened and his voice had changed from detached and cold to tired and low. 

“It _could_ explain it! I guess we can expect a broken window or two before Thor finds us, though,” Tony joked, and there was a small, breathless laugh from Bucky, shaking his chest, which made Tony grin wildly. He sighed with contentment as Bucky’s fingers resumed their motion on his neck, and he tilted his head back to give him better access, now perfectly relaxed. 

Either Thor was on his way, or the servers hosting Jarvis had to reboot completely, which would take longer than the emergency protocol Tony was waiting for, but could still work. They just had to wait. 

“You okay?” he asked softly, Bucky’s hair tickling his face. He could _feel_ his presence over him, Bucky’s chin over his face, now that he had leant back so far, but it was still pitch black in the elevator and no matter how much he squinted, Tony couldn’t see a thing. Which meant Bucky couldn’t either, and even if he’d chosen to emerge again, it didn’t mean he was comfortable staying. 

“Yeah, so far.”

There was a long silence, then Bucky spoke again, almost reluctantly. 

“You’re helping.”

Tony’s mouth moved before he could think. 

“You’re the one holding me in your arms, and Winter brought me back from my panic attack. Without you I’d still be sobbing in a corner. Don’t say I’m helping when I’m the burden in this situation. You’d probably already be out of here without me.”

Bucky sighed, the air warm on Tony’s face, and Tony was about to continue on how useless he was and how he needed to improve his crappy emergency reboot system because getting stuck in an elevator only because Thor arrived was really stupid and far from ideal, but a cold, metal finger moved from his neck to his lips and he stopped. 

“You’re not a burden,” Bucky stated, and he didn’t sound angry, but there was this peculiar edge to his voice again, this certainty that pushed Tony to believe the words even though he knew it was a lie to comfort him. 

“You’re right on one point,” Bucky continued, and Tony was about to add something again, but Bucky pressed his fingers against Tony’s lips a little bit harder and he reconsidered. 

“I’d probably be out of here without you, but that’s because Winter would have torn the elevator door apart without thinking about the damage or the repairs.”

Tony was braced to hear Bucky call him a burden, and when the words that came out of Bucky’s mouth were anything but what he had expected, they elicited an incredulous laugh from him, before the realisation hit him. 

“You can open the doors?” he asked quickly, jumping on the idea that he could be out – not that he wasn’t enjoying being in Bucky’s arms like this, if he was being honest, but now that they could, maybe, get out… he wanted to. 

He wanted to, but he also wanted to stay like this, he realised before Bucky could say anything. Because he had met Winter, albeit in particular circumstances, and he had discovered Bucky was versed in engineering and understood enough of electronics and quantum travel theory to see how the Bifrost could be a problem for the Tower. He had found out that his heart trusted Bucky _and_ Winter, even if his mind was reluctant to let his guard down, and that their warm and strong embrace was soothing, maybe enough to let him sleep. 

He realised he didn’t want the moment they were sharing, their proximity, their _intimacy_ , to end. The darkness was scary, but it also meant they could talk freely, without seeing each other’s reactions, without fearing each other’s judgement. It blurred everything outside of the elevator – if they couldn’t see it, if Tony couldn’t, then did it really matter right now? 

For a brief moment, Tony’s world had been defined by Bucky’s body wrapped around his, only the two of them in the whole wide world, and he didn’t want to go back to his usual world, where Bucky avoided him and where everyone thought Tony hated the Winter Soldier because of what he had done, when in reality… 

What Tony was feeling couldn’t have been more different than hate. 

“Yes, I can open them.”

Tony’s heart dropped, and he was already berating himself for his naivety, his foolishness, when Bucky added something that changed everything. 

“But it’d mess up my arm, so I’ll need you to repair it. Willing to trade?”

Once again, Tony’s mouth moved before he could think, but it was his heart speaking, and even if the rational part of him wanted to take the words back as soon as they left his tongue, he had to try. 

“Only if you hug me again once I’m done with your arm.”

Tony feared the silence, feared that Bucky would push him away upon hearing those words, but Bucky squeezed him and buried his head in the crook of Tony’s neck, his hair brushing Tony’s neck, and it nearly knocked the wind out of him, the intensity of the embrace, the sheer strength of Bucky’s arms. 

“We’ll hug you all you want,” a strangled, almost timid voice came from against Tony’s shoulder, and something bubbly and warm grew in Tony’s chest, a huge smile he couldn’t hide on his face. He raised his hand and gently patted on Bucky’s head, the bubbles blooming in his chest into content fireworks. 

“But first, we get out of here,” Winter said as he straightened, letting Tony go, easing him up onto his feet effortlessly before walking to the door. 

“No remorse if I break the elevator?” Bucky asked, deadly serious. 

“Dare I say I’d enjoy it?” Tony answered lightly, elated by everything going on. 

Bucky took it as approval and began to work. 

At first Tony didn’t see anything – he could hear the grunt of his efforts and the whirring of the metal arm constantly adjusting to bend the heavily reinforced door, which could technically stand an explosion of C4 without a scratch. Soon enough, he heard the door complain, its metal protesting, whining against the pressure. 

The first ray of light appeared, and Tony realised they must have stopped on a floor and not somewhere in between. It outlined Bucky’s body, all his muscles tensed and fighting against the door, and it made his metal arm shine as it whirred even louder, to the point where Tony could see it move, reorganising itself over and over, the door slowly losing its battle. 

The sight was _gorgeous_. 

The door finally admitted defeat, light now flooding the room, the world accessible again. It felt like an eternity to Tony, as if the time in the elevator had been a parenthesis, a pause in time while everything around them continued to flow. 

Bucky released the battered door, his metal arms whirring in agony, and there was pain on his face and in his posture, but he wore a proud smile when he turned to Tony and opened his arms wide as if to say, “ _Look, I did it. I saved us._ ”

Tony took the opportunity to walk to the light, to Bucky standing in the doorframe waiting for him, full of promises and vibrant with joy, and he hugged him. 

He hugged him as thanks, and as a promise of his own, a silent vow saying “ _there’s more_ ” and “ _I’ll save us too,_ ” as he breathed in Bucky’s smell of coffee and leather and hot metal, finding solace in the strength of his arms and the steadiness of his pulse. 

He slowly looked up, admiring Bucky’s features, his piercing blue eyes searching for Tony’s until they found them, a fond smile growing on his lips. 

“Let’s take care of your arm now, shall we?” Tony asked softly as Bucky tried to hide a wince, but from this close, there was very little he could hide from Tony and they both knew it.

“Let’s,” Bucky answered as he slid his human hand into Tony’s, giving him a gentle squeeze, a reminder of their promises and of everything that hadn’t been said but had been understood nonetheless. 

Maybe today wasn’t such a bad day after all, huh?

**Author's Note:**

> If you have a moment and enjoyed your reading, feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments! Thank you~


End file.
